Stand Up When It's All Crashing Down
by blairdrof
Summary: [One Shot] What if Haley had lost the baby after the accident? What if Haley was the reason Brooke was so broken and not Lucas? [Baley]


**Disclaimer:** I don't own One Tree Hill. Like I always say, if I did, I would have already snatched Sophia for myself. I don't own the lyrics from the title, they belong to Superchick from the song Stand In The Rain.

**Author's Notes:** Set post 4x10. Alternative Universe. One Shot. Haley did lose the baby and Nathan told her about Daunte. This is a drabble that was nagging my brain. I'm not very happy with how it came out but I'm not discontent with it either. It was written inspired on Superchick's song "Stand In The Rain". I suggest you read it while listening to that song, it'll help put things in perspective. I hope you like it. Read and review.

**STAND UP WHEN IT'S ALL CRASHING DOWN**

_by_

_Miss Waffles_

It had been 5 hours. 300 minutes since Haley had broken free from unconsciousness and she still hadn't asked about her. She had waited patiently in the hospital's common room after she had checked on Lucas, who was still under a deep slumber. Brooke remained still on her seat not having muttered a single word to anyone. She hadn't eaten, she hadn't slept, she hadn't felt.

Her world was torn apart the moment Haley was hit by that car. And she wasn't even there to stop it. It wasn't her fault, of course; but just the mere thought of never being able to tell Haley about her feelings made her shudder. Fortunately, she had managed to check on the tutor when she was unconscious, though the shape she was in made her heart shatter completely. She was all covered in bruises, her right leg was on a cast and there was a large bandage wrapped around her head. She looked so fragile, yet so strong.

When Peyton told her Haley was awake, her head shot up and all worries faded away for a moment. Then she remembered, Haley would want to see Nathan first. She saw the raven haired basketball player walk by towards Haley's room and decided she should wait. Haley would ask to see her friends… Right? So she waited. She saw Nathan come out for a while and then Peyton went in. Then followed Skills, Karen, Mouth and, once again, Nathan. Sadly, she didn't seem to need Brooke.

She was the only one that remained at the hospital. Well, Peyton was still there, but she was with Lucas, so she didn't count. Karen had gone to take a shower, Skills had to update Bevin on how the two blondes were doing and Mouth was at Gigi's. Oh and Nathan. Nathan, following Haley's request, had gone home. Brooke couldn't quite yet figure out why Haley hadn't called out for her yet. And when she asked a nurse to ask Haley if she would like some company from her, a new group of butterflies flew to her stomach.

And then, well, then her already torn apart world fell to pieces. The nurse, a rather friendly woman in her mid-forties, said that Haley didn't want to see her. It couldn't be. Sure, so far she hadn't gone visit Haley because she hadn't asked for it. She had seen when Nathan told the others that the tutor wanted to see them. The moment the nurse stopped talking, she swallowed past the forming lump in her throat and blinked a few times, in a useless attempt to keep the stinging tears from rolling down her cheeks. Soon her sight was blurry and she could barely hold in the sobs.

"Are you ok?" the nurse said bringing her out of her downwards spiral. She looked up at the concerned woman and merely nodded. Probably unconvincingly, because the nurse gave her another sympathetic look and walked away reluctantly.

She couldn't stay there, she couldn't breathe. She looked around biting down her lower lip, tasting the salty tears that glistened along with it, and wrapped her arms around herself. She began walking out of the building, quickly speeding up her pace. One she reached the doors, she pushed them open and strolled outside.

The weather somehow accompanied her mood, for it was raining. She didn't really know when it had started pouring water but before she could cover her body, her clothes were already soaked through. Not that she cared anyway. Not even bothering to slow down, she started running. She had no idea of where she was heading but she had to get away from Haley, from the hospital, from everything. Her mind was racing with possibilities of why the tutor didn't need her. Suddenly, she felt herself come to a stop and stood still in the middle of the disabled street.

She was at the place Haley was hit. _Ironic_. She thought bitterly. After desperately trying to lock herself in her own little world, she ended up in the place where her heart was broken for the first time. The rain was making it quite impossible to see from a very far distance, but she could still make out the shape of the bastard's car smashed against the small construction. There were orange cones across the width of the street to prevent oncoming cars from moving further and she walked up to the exact place Haley had been hit at.

Funny. She hadn't been there, yet she knew every detail of the accident. She recalled the moment her cell phone rang and Skills' voice came through the speaker, informing her of the incident. She recalled the moment so perfectly, that she could actually feel her chest tighten like it did back then. Once again she was brought back to reality by a shiver that ran down her spine. The rain was hitting her like a waterfall making her look like a porcelain mermaid on the pavement. Her leather boots were ruined and her jeans stuck to her legs like a second skin. Her blue sweater didn't stop any of the rain that was soaking through it dampening the shirt she had under it and she wished she hadn't left her matching leather jacket behind. Her dark auburn locks were clinging around her head, sticking to her pale cheeks.

The thought that she could have lost Haley re-entered her brain and she broke down. She couldn't live without the blonde. She wasn't dead, but the fact that she didn't even want to see her told her something and another wave of tears washed through her. She loved Haley so much, so much she would actually do anything for her. Be it steal, kill or even die. She was happy they had become closer over the past few months. And she radiated happiness when she found out Haley had told her she was pregnant before even telling Lucas, Nathan or anyone else. Her stomach had flipped when the tutor smiled at her for her comment about her baby being a Little Brooke. And a rush of wholeness took over her when Haley told her it'd be a boy that same night she had the accident.

No. She couldn't imagine her life without Haley. She couldn't live without her. But Haley wasn't talking to her and she dropped to the floor on her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. From afar she looked either hurt, or maybe even insane. But the truth was that she was just broken. Her mind went numb with pain and she screamed. She hit her fist against the wet floor and her screams became louder. After turning her pain into anger and draining it away, she placed both hands next to her knees and cried. The bittersweet moisture of her tears mixed with the fresh rain that kept pouring down her face, making it impossible to tell which drops came from her eyes and which from the sky, as she mumbled incoherently.

In no time, her mumbles turned into whispers and her mind went blank. She felt numb, yet surrounded by pain around her aching heart as a strangled "Why?" slipped past her lips over and over. She closed her eyes tightly and let the body-wracking sobs rock her body. She was sure she'd get pneumonia after being out in such raging storm for such a long time but she didn't care. Her soul had died and nothing could fix that. She bit on her lip in frustration and slammed her balled up fist against the rough street again, drawing some blood out of the back of her hand in the process, as her voice and body gave out and she finally a wreck.

Out of nowhere, she felt a pair of warm, yet already damp, arms encircle her in a tight embrace. She leaned into the comfort that person was offering as they hushed her and for some reason her heart fluttered at the sound of that voice. She looked up to confirm her utopia as she was met with a pair of chocolate brown eyes that stared back at her lovingly.

"It's going to be okay" she said softly smiling and Brooke couldn't speak. Her voice had left her a while before and she had no strength to speak out loud.

Instead, she snuggled further into Haley's chest under the rain, wondering why the tutor was doing there and how she had gotten there since she did have a cast on her leg. Her heart beginning to heal and regaining some composure, she sat up straight breaking the hug and looked at the now wet blonde. On cue, she found her voice and spoke out, "What are you doing here?" earning a half-hearted smile from the other girl.

"I was looking for you" she stated simply, letting her hand linger on Brooke's face for a moment.

"But… Why… How-how did you get here? You can't walk" the auburn haired cheerleader stuttered out in a raspy voice and Haley shrugged pressing her lips together.

"An ambulance brought me. I needed to see you" she replied barely above a whisper shocking the designer, whose green eyes widened.

"But I thought you said…" Brooke began her voice cracking as she relived the stinging she felt at the hospital.

"I said what I said, but you took it the wrong way," she paused looking at Brooke in the eyes, noticing right away that she had been crying, "I was being discharged, I know it's weird since I've just miscarried and all but… I wanted you to be the first one to see me walking on crutches. I wanted you to be the one to help me out of there and take me to our apartment" she looked down momentarily licking her lips and replaced her gaze on the soaked-to-the-bone girl in front of her.

After realizing Brooke still didn't get the point, she smiled widely and took her hand in hers, "It was Nathan's fault," she paused, "the accident was his fault," she continued as Brooke looked at her surprised yet furious, "It's a long story. But that doesn't matter now, Brooke" she said as her voice grew thicker.

"Haley…" Brooke started but Haley stopped her, which earned a half-concerned, half-sad frown from the brunette.

"No. Tigger, look," she said firmly as she motioned for Brooke to help her stand up. Once they were both on their feet, and Haley had leaned some of her weight against the green eyed cheerleader, she continued, "ever since we thought you were pregnant, I've had this feeling at the pit of my stomach each time I'm around you. I couldn't quite place what it meant until the day before I found out I was the one pregnant," she stopped once again and Brooke shyly encouraged her to continue as they still stood under the heavy rain drops, "I was going to tell you about it but this pregnancy held me back. And I had to try and make it work between Nathan and I, for the baby's sake. Now with this," she paused pointing to her leg, then to her belly and then to the space between Brooke and her, "I can't do it anymore," she went on as she moved closer to the cheerleader, "I broke up with Nathan for good. The baby was the only thing that kept me with him and I can't keep these feelings to myself anymore. I've already lost my baby and I don't want to lose you, too" she stated placing a hand on Brooke's waist.

"Hales…" the designer whispered, tears welling up in her eyes once again. Yet this time, they were tears of joy. It was true, right? It wasn't a dream, right? It couldn't be.

"Shh" Haley smiled placing a finger on Brooke's lips silencing her. She leaned in slowly and softly pressed her lips to the taller girl's in a sweet kiss. She let them linger there for a second, getting lost in the feeling of Brooke's lips mixed with the raining water that had slowed down. She pulled away slowly with her eyelids tightly shut together then opened her eyes. She looked at Brooke, who opened her eyes after a while blushing, and finally said, "I love you, Brooke," she admitted placing her palm against the brunette's cool, moist cheek caressing it with her thumb, "and I want you to move back in with me"

"Haley," Brooke said as a smile finally broke through her features and she sniffled, making a funny sound, which earned a chuckle from the shorter girl, "I'd love to" she accepted then teasingly added, "by the way," stopping Haley from walking away happily with her arm, "I love you too" and pulled her into another tender kiss.

Ironically enough, as they walked away hand in hand, Brooke helping Haley with her cast, it stopped raining.


End file.
